'Vita brings cheer to a dour High Street'

PlayStation Vita can warm up a bitter start to the year for games retail.

The games trade is upbeat about the new hardware launch, with specialists and mainstream outlets ramping up pre-orders, launching micro-sites and preparing midnight launches.

In a period of market decline it's a great opportunity to drive sales, and the excitement the launch generates is great for our customers and colleagues,” Sainsbury's senior games buyer Toby Burton told MCV.

We've been taking pre-orders through our Sainsbury's Entertainment website for some time now and it's tracking really well. The great thing is not all customers are pre-ordering the same game, which goes to prove that the launch line-up is more appealing and diverse than your average hardware launch.”

Morrisons' games buyer Nick Sultanti added: The Vita launch should bring a welcome cheer to a dour High Street, it's an amazing bit of kit.”

GAME already has Vita units in all of its stores, while Asda's head of games Andrew Thompson says the grocer ‘will be open in over 200 stores for a midnight launch'.

The excitement around this launch shows that handheld gaming remains as popular as ever,” said GAME marketing director Anna-Marie Mason.